HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"People have nowadays . . . got a strange opinion that everything should be taught by lectures. Now, I cannot see that lectures can do so much good as reading the books from which the lectures are taken. Lectures were once useful; but now, when we can all read, and books are so numerous, lectures are unnecessary. " - Samuel Johnson according to James Boswell (1791) [Samuel Johnson doubtless rolls in his grave at the thought that in the 21st Century *videos* are evidently replacing *reading*.]HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

In the matter of the utility of lectures, Richard Hake and Samuel Johnson seem to have hit the nail on the head. Certainly in mathematics, and in the sciences I would bet, it is famously impossible to get students to read their textbooks. This seems understandable since it has been estimated that not more than 20% of the population can read at a high enough level to make sense of college level writing. The 20% figure also fully explains why every attempt to make textbooks more approachable and more interesting has failed to produce the desired result.

In an age when many more than 20% of the population attend post-secondary education, it is a foregone conclusion that the lecture is here to stay. And, dare I say it, it is clear that the "flipped classroom" has no future.